Heroes and diamonds

Hi folks,

This week I read two articles. And I can assure you, they both have a happy ending ;-)

Last week, a US Airways pilot did something amazing. To avoid a plane crash, Chesley Sullenberger landed his damaged aircraft into the Hudson River. Shortly after takeoff the plane hit a flock of geese. The pilot didn’t have another option than to land the plane into the river. Ferry boats rushed to the passengers who had climbed onto the wings. Amazingly, all of the one hundred and fifty five people survived. In America, Sullenberger is now a big hero. He even received a medal of the mayor of New York. I guess he deserves it, after all he saved all those lives. It isn’t easy to land an airplane on water.

‘Diamonds are a girl’s best friend’ they say. Scarlett Johansson, a 23-year old actress showed off her big diamond ring she got from her fiancé Ryan Reynolds, also an actor. Reynolds proposed and apparently Johansson said yes. I hope they will be happy, but I guess they will also have a lot of problems with the paparazzi. After all, they’re a celebrity couple. I agree that if you’re famous, you’re a little bit ‘public property’. But sometimes the photographers want too much and they follow – even stalk – the celebrities.

CU next week
ST

Life

Hi folks,

As promised, I’ll tell you some more positive things than last week. This week I read 4 articles on the 7Speaking website.

Who believes The King is alive? Apparently there are many people who believe this. When I say ‘The King’ I mean Elvis Presley if you haven’t figured that out yet. Famous artists who have died young, always seem to leave some mystery behind. There are always die hard fans that dress up or try to live like their idol. I think everyone is unique and special and you don’t have to pretend you’re someone else. But hey, that’s just my opinion.

My second article was about the Italian railway company who launched a high-speed train on the Rome-Milan line. They cut off one hour of the travelling time and now they can do the track in 3 hours and 30 minutes. We live in a world where time is important and technology will always find ways to save time. This is a good thing but only if we fill in the time we’ve gained with something positive, or something relaxing like spending more time with your family or spending more time on yourself instead of only trying to gain more and more time. Don’t forget to live, because life is going really fast.

This week’s number 3 was a real treat. The Cayman Islands with its coral reefs, frogfish and reggae beats is a beautiful place to spend your holiday. But lately a lot of businessmen found their way to the luxurious resorts. Now there are more people with briefcases and cellphones than there are scuba divers. Like I said earlier, don’t forget to live. Enjoy life!

Last but certainly not least: Prince Harry wants to spend more time helping children. He founded a charity in Lesotho in the memory of his mother, Princess Diana. Because of his busy army life, he can’t go there as much as he would like to. The charity helps orphans and abused children and wants to give them a better life. I’ve always dreamt about going to a pour country and build a school there or do something else to help those people. I’m really lucky I was born in one of the ‘Western country’s’ but I’ve always wanted to help the less fortunate. Maybe after graduating I’ll do it for a couple of months…who knows

byebye


ST

About bombs, missiles and car crashes

Hi folks,

Let me tell you about my work on 7Speaking this week. I read 3 articles about different topics:

The first one was about a bomb that went off in a bank and killed two people in America. The Police had found a suspicious object and when they took it inside, it exploded. The federal government offered a huge amount of money (a $35,000 reward) for information leading to an arrest and a conviction in this case. I really don’t understand why anyone would like to blow up other people or someone else’s property. These people are really crazy. The fact that the government offers a big reward to catch this lunatic is a typical American phenomenon, I guess.

My second article was about a complex test executed by the Pentagon. They tested a missile defense shield network by launching an interceptor missile to knock down another missile which simulated an enemy attack. In fact, both missiles were launched from the American continent, but one of them meant to simulate a North Korean long-range missile. This test cost $120 to $150 million dollars. I think America is spending too much money on defense when the poverty-rate is still very high. Hopefully Obama will be less defense-oriented then Bush.

My last article was a short news report broadcast on the radio about the death of Grace Kelly. She was an actress and a princess of Monaco, but died because of a car accident. Even though I wasn’t born yet at the time of this accident, I heard several stories about it. People were really shocked. I can imagine how the people felt back then, because a year ago I heard on the news that one of the most famous football players in Belgium (where I come from) also died because of a car accident. He played for my favorite team and was also a player of our national team. I didn’t know hem personally but it really was a punch in the face when I first heard it.

I’ll try to read something positive next week, because when I look back on this week’s work, it all looks a bit negative: bomb, dead, war, accident. Maybe next week I’ll tell you a love story or a fairy-tale, who knows ;-)

CU soon

ST

Happy New Year ! ! !

Hi folks,

First of all I want to wish everyone a happy and especially a healthy 2009!

This week, I read 3 articles. The first one was about the world’s largest painting (or at least an attempt to break the record) in Thailand. The canvas would be sold afterwards to the highest bidder and the whole amount would be donated to charity. I think this is a nice initiative even though I have my doubts about this whole “trying to get in the Guinness Book of World Records-mania”.

My second topic was about Estonia and its elections in 2011. It will be the first country where the citizens can vote by mobile phone. If this can be done in a secure way, without the risk of hacker attacks, fraud or vote count manipulation, I really believe this could be a good voting system.

My last article was about 30 Chrysler factories which will be closed for a month. Because of the international crisis, Chrysler is nearing the minimum level of cash it needs to run the company. In my opinion, I don’t think this measure won’t do any good. The workers will be unemployed for one month and the factories won’t make any money during that period.

So far my first entry of the year
CU soon

ST

Catching up! - part 2

Hi Folks,

This week I read 3 articles:
The first one was about Obama who promised action on the economy. Rising prices, people who lose their homes because they can't afford it any more,... America has a lot of problems, just like the entire world. Obama says he can change this but not in the short term, therefor the crisis is too difficult. Personally I am glad that after 8 years of Bush 'fucking up' (sorry for my language, but talking about Bush I think this is appropriate) America and the rest of the world, Obama can bring some change. And I have confidence in his succes.

The second article was about the speech of Martin Luther King in 1963. "I have a dream ..." is one of the most famous quotes in history. I strongly believe that the election of Obama in 2008 is partly thanks to this man's actions back in 1963. Racism is still not conquered entirely, but we're well on the way.

The last article was about an LA ban on new fast food outlets in poor areas. A lot of Americans are obese and especially in LA. Poor people in LA don't have money to buy (slightly more expensive) healthy food, or they don't have a car to go shopping. So they just go to MacDo or another fast food restaurant where the food is 'fast' and cheap. I think this decision can make a difference, but only together with a larger sensitization campagne.

CU soon for the next 'catching up'-part

ST

Catching up! - part 1

Hi Folks,

I have some catching up to do, so this week I spent a couple of hours on the 7Speaking website. I read 2 big articles and saw a short 'newsflash'.

The first article was about Airbus and its financial problems. Because of the weak Dollar (or the strong Euro, as you like) and because of a 2-year-delay on the delivery of the first A380, Airbus has an unstable financial situation. They already sold several plants and others are set to follow. I think it's a difficult time for everyone, whatever business you're in, but especially in a sector where the competition is killing (like the airline business).

My second article was about sports, namely the sell out of the Premier League (the best English league). Millionaires buy a football club and try to optimize the value of the club. But they only look at the financial point of view and often forget that football in England is more like a tradition. I followed the Premier League for several years, and it's true that rich people like Abramovich (who bought Chelsea) change the League. If you don't know much about football, maybe it's hard to understand. But if you only have a minor interest in English football, you can't deny it.

The 'newsflash' I mentioned was 'The Business Minute'. That's a summary of 1 minute about different topics, such as the sale of a company or the allocation of a loan of the government on technological research.

CU soon

ST

Belgium for sale

Hi folks,

I just read a strange article. Actually it wasn't the article that was strange, it was the content. Some journalist wanted to sell Belgium by auction on Ebay. Who want's to sell a country, or even worse, his own country???
As you all know (or don't know) I'm Belgian, so when I saw the title I didn't hesitated a second: I had to read this! But in fact the entire Ebay-selling-thing was a big joke, thank goodness.

CU

ST